Bowling pin cleaner comprising a sheet of cleaning material associated with pin positioning mechanism



Jan. 25, 1966 H. D. EASTMAN 3,231,273 BOWLING PIN CLEANER COMPRISING A SHEET OF CLEANING MATERIAL ASSOCIATED WITH PIN POSITIONING MECHANISM Filed July 10, 1962 INVENTOR. flaro 4;! D. A zrrzan A TTORNEYS 3,231,273 Patented Jan. 25, 1966 United States Patent Ofiice 3,231,273 BOWLING PIN CLEANER COMPRISING A SHEET F CLEANING MATERIAL ASSOCIATED WITH PIN POSITIONING MECHANISM Harold D. Eastman, 191 Woodlawn Road, Burlington, Vt. Filed July 10, 1962, Ser. No. 208,888 4 Claims. (Cl. 273-54) This invention relates generally to a bowling pin cleaner, and more specifically to a cleaner attachment adapted to be secured onto an automatic pinsetting machine.

The principles of the present invention are particularly useful when applied to an automatic pinsetting machine. In particular, it has been common heretofore to employ no cleaning device or feature in combination with such machine. Under these circumstances, it has been necessary to clean bowling pins by hand, or to employ a separate cleaning machine for such purpose. A separate cleaning machine has the disadvantage that the pins must be removed from the'alley so that they are neither in actual use nor in'stand-by use. Such cleaning is :im practical to apply to each pin each time that it is knocked down, and therefore such cleaning is performed only periodically with several usages of the pin intervening between cleanings. An attempt has been made to incorporate cleaning means directly in the automatic pinsetting machine; however, this atttempt has been accompanied by certain disadvantages, namely that such cleaning interferes with the feed of the bowling pins to the pin elevator, and has further been accompanied by interfering with pickup of the ball.

The present invention contemplates the utilization of a sheet of cleaning material on the turnaround pan. Thus, by this invention, hand cleaning is eliminated, the periodic use of a separate or remote machine is eliminated, and all interference with pin feed to the pin elevator and with ball pickup has been eliminated. Moreover, each pin is cleaned at least to some degree after each time that it is knocked down, thereby maintaining a higher level of cleanliness. Such cleanlieness is not only pleasing to the eye, but is a practical condition which minimizes the amount of cleaning, or which extends the interval between the cleanings of the automatic pinsetting machine itself.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a bowling pin cleaner. Another object of the present invention is to equip an automatic pinsetting machine with a bowling pin cleaner which automatically cleans each pin after each time it has been knocked down.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a pin cleaner for an automatic pinsetting machine which does not interfere with either feeding of the pin to the pin elevator or with ball pickup.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a bowling pin cleaner which is both more efficient in operation and which is more effective than any prior known device.

Many other advantages, features and additional objects of the present invention will become manifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to the detailed description and the accompanying sheet of drawings in which a preferred structural embodiment incorporating the principles of the present invention is shown by way of illustrative example.

On the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view, fragmentary in nature, showing the rear portion of an automatic pinsetting machine equipped with a bowling pin cleaner provided in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of a portion of FIGURE 1 showing a turnaround pan provided with a bowling pin cleaner according to this invention; and

FIGURES 3-5 respectively are plan, bottom, and rearend views of the structure shown in FIGURE 2.

As shown in the drawings:

The principles of this invention are particularly useful when embodied in an automatic pinsetting machine such as fragmentarily illustrated in FIGURE 1, generally indicated by the numeral 10. In machines of this type, knocked down bowling pins or pins raked off the alley are collected in a pit 11 disposed at the rear of the machine, within which is disposed a pin elevating wheel 12 and a ball elevator wheel 13 which rotate to initiate ball return, and to retrieve the pins. Within the opening in the pin elevating wheel 12, and near the top thereof, there is disposed a machine element which comprises a turnaround pan 14 which receives the pins from. the pin e1evating wheel 12 and delivers such pins one at a time to a cross conveyor 15 which carries the same to a storage or stand-by position.

The turnaround pan 14 is a stationary machine element which has an upwardly directed concave outer surface 16.

Cleaning means, preferably comprising a sheet o-f'cleaning material, are secured as an attachment to the turnaround pan 14. Such cleaning means comprise a sheet 17 of cloth or treated paper which extends over the concave surface of the turnaround pan 14, and around the lateral edges thereof, and thence beneath the same, where opposite edges thereof are joined together by .yieldable resilient means 18, such as a spring or an elastic member, the yieldable resilient means 18 being connected to the sheet 17 by means of a number of spring clips 19. The resilient means 18 tensions the sheet 17 over the concave surface 16 so as to form a shallow gap 20 therebetween. At least one of the resilient means 18 extends about a portion 21 of the machine 10, which portion 21 may comprise a shaft or stationary member. An example of this is shown in FIGURE 4 where the portion or member 21 serves to assist in retaining the cleaning means on the turnaround pan 14.

When a retrieved pin has been raised by the pin elevating wheel 12 and deposited on the turnaround pan 14, the pin, as shown in FIGURE 2, actually is deposited on the sheet 17 of the cleaning member which frictionally engages the pin to both rub off dirt from the pin, and to define a sloped pin-turning surface, imparted by the shape of the turn-around pan to the inherently flexible cloth or other cleaning material, on which the asym metrical bowling pin may turn to deliver the lower, larger, or heavier end to the cross conveyor 15.

Thus, the instant invention provides an attachment which may be easily installed or replaced at any time, which is inexpensive, and which acts on every retrieved pin while it is being handled, without interfering with either ball pickup or pin pickup.

Although various minor modifications might be suggested by those versed in the art, it should be understood that I wish to embody within the scope of the patent warranted hereon all such embodiments as reasonably and properly come within the scope of my contribution to the art.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an automatic pinsetting machine, the improvement comprising, in combination;

(a) a turn-around pan having an upwardly directed concave surface over which each retrieved pin is passed by said machine;

(b) a sheet of flexible cleaning material secured over said concave surface and disposed to be engaged by the outer surface of each pin when each pin is passed thereover; and

(c) resilient means yieldably tensioning said sheet on said turn-around pan to impart to said sheet a configuration similar to that of said turn-around pan and so as to create a shallow gap between said sheet and said pan. 7

2. In an automatic pinsetting machine, the improvement comprising, in combination;

(a) a turn-around pan having an upwardly directed concave surface over which each retrieved pin is passed by said machine;

(b) a sheet of flexible cleaning material secured over said concave surface and disposed to be engaged by the outer surface of each pin when each pin is passed thereover; and

(c) resilient means yieldably tensioning said sheet so as to create a shallow gap between said sheet and said pan, said resilient means removably retaining said sheet on said turn-around pan to impart to said sheet a configuration similar to that of said turn-around pan.

3. In an automatic pinsetting machine, the improvement comprising, in combination:

(a) a turn-around pan having an upwardly directed fixed concave surface over which each retrieved pin is passed by said machine;

(b) a sheet of flexible cleaning material secured over said concave surface and operative to slidably support each retrieved pin thereon, said sheet being dis posed to be engaged by the outer surface of each pin during such sliding support thereof, and being operative due to the configuration imparted to it by said 4. pan to effect turning of each such pin about a generally vertical axis; and (c) means removably retaining said sheet on said pan. 4. In an automatic pinsetting machine having a pin elevating Wheel and a cross conveyor, the improvement comprising:

(a) a sheet of flexible cleaning material disposed in a stationary position to receive pins from the elevating wheel and oriented to slidably support only one of said pins at a time; and (b) means operative on said sheet to impart to it a predetermined configuration by which configuration said sheet is operative to turn each pin toward the cross conveyor; whereby said sheet frictionally cleans each pin while it so turns and supports each pin.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,013,506 1/1912 Miller et al. 1937 X 1,190,645 7/1916 Hedenskoog 273-43 1,838,947 12/1931 Ksellmann 27354 2,217,256 10/1940 McCauley 1521 X 2,767,984 10/1956 Zuercher 273-43 2,994,903 8/1961 Lawrance et al. l5-308 3,034,787 5/1962 Brown M 27354 3,076,651 2/ 1963 Hicks 27354 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,013,047 4/1952 France.

DELBERT B. LOWE, Primary Examiner. 

4. IN AN AUTOMATIC PINSETTING MACHINE HAVING A PIN ELEVATING WHEEL AND A CROSS CONVEYOR, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING: (A) A SHEET OF FLEXIBLE CLEANING MATERIAL DISPOSED IN A STATIONARY POSITION TO RECEIVE PINS FROM THE ELEVATING WHEEL AND ORIENTED TO SLIDABLY SUPPORT ONLY ONE OF SAID PINS AT A TIME; AND (B) MEANS OPERATIVE ON SAID SHEET TO IMPART TO IT A PREDETERMINED CONFIGURATION BY WHICH CONFIGURATION SAID SHEET IS OPERATIVE TO TURN EACH PIN TOWARD THE CROSS CONVEYOR; WHEREBY SAID SHEET FRICTIONALLY CLEANS EACH PIN WHILE IT SO TURNS AND SUPPORTS EACH PIN. 